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Raleigh teacher, WVEA member receives Character Educator award

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A Raleigh County teacher and longtime West Virginia Education Association member is the 2014 recipient of the Paul J. Morris Character Educator of the Year award.

Doris Meador is a Title I reading and math teacher for both Independence High School and Independence Middle. She received her award during Wednesday's state Board of Education meeting.

Over the years, Meador has been a volleyball coach, a yearbook editor and a book drive coordinator. Among numerous other activities, she's also worked with Toys for Tots and has volunteered with the Loaves & Fishes organization, which helps feed the hungry.

“Every day in which I interact with my students, I strive to teach character through role modeling,” Meador said, according to a state Department of Education news release. “It’s not what you tell them, it’s what you show them by the way you conduct yourself in school as well as in the community. By working with students in this capacity, I intend to leave them with the willingness to help others without expecting something in return.”

Character education emphasizes trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, citizenship and fairness, which all play important roles as children learn how to be global citizens, the release states.

The Paul J. Morris Character Educator of the Year Award is named after former longtime state Board of Education member Paul Morris, who died in 2005. He received the first Character Educator of the Year Award in 2003.